Add Easy Texture to Your Hat

I am not really a person who wears hats, but there’s something about the depths of January that makes me want to knit hats. They’re great fast projects and actually are really helpful to keep you warm (I’ve lately taken to wearing one inside the house when I’m super cold, which is often when it’s actually cold outside).

If you’re in the market for a new hat to knit this year, allow me to offer Winter Dusk by Andrea Tong.

This DK weight hat is worked from the bottom up in the round and uses puff stitches to add easy texture, and it comes in four sizes. A DK weight hat would actually be great for wearing in the house (or office, or wherever you happen to be these days) because it’s not too heavy. Or if you have a lot of hair and don’t like to wear full hats, you can leave off the very top of the hat and make it a messy bun hat instead.

The pattern is available on Ravelry, or you can check it out at Two Sheeps. Apparently this pattern was part of their yarn calendar last year (which I did not know was a thing; this year’s calendar is a PDF only but you can check it out here).

You can also buy a kit from Two Sheeps that includes the pattern and the yarn. The yarn is from Hidden Pond Yarn and it’s called Ski Lodge at Dusk. It’s a baby alpaca, silk and cashmere blend, which sounds just like the sort of thing I’d like to have on my head right about now.

No matter where or how you buy it, the proceeds from the pattern sales will be donated to Knit the Rainbow, a charitable organization that provides handmade garments to unhoused LGBTQ+ youth. You can learn more about that organization here.

[Photo: Andrea Tong]

Stitch a Sweater with Stripes of Color and Texture

Stitch a Textured Cardigan with Nydia

Striped Textured Hat Baby Knitting Pattern

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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